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Pac-12 Announces Men's Soccer All-Conference Honors

SAN FRANCISCO - The Pac-12 Conference announced today the men’s soccer All-Pac-12 honors for the 2016 season, as selected by a polling of the Conference coaches. UCLA’s Jose Hernandez and STANFORD’s Foster Langsdorf were voted Co-Pac-12 Players of the Year. Langsdorf’s teammate Tomas Hilliard-Arce was tabbed Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, WASHINGTON’s Handwalla Bwana was voted Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and Cardinal head coach Jeremy Gunn was voted Pac-12 Coach of the Year. The All-Pac-12 teams were also announced.

Co-Pac-12 Players of the Year – Jose Hernandez, MF, So., UCLA and Foster Langsdorf, F, Jr., StanfordUCLA’s Jose Hernandez (Mexico City, Mexico) led the Bruins to their 44th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and 34th-consecutive tournament appearance. The 2015 pac-12 Freshman of the Year, Hernandez averaged 1.33 assists per game in 2016, helping the Bruins to a Conference leading and 32 assists on the year which also ranks in the top 25 in the NCAA. The sophomore midfielder started all eight games this season and netted four goals, to date, with two of them coming as game winners.

Stanford’s Foster Langsdorf (Vancouver, Wash.) is the fourth player in Stanford history to be named Pac-12 Men’s Soccer Player of the Year and second-consecutive nod as current MLS rookie of the year Jordan Morris was honored last season. The junior finished the regular season as the Conference leader with 12 goals, five of them as game winners, and 26 points. Langsdorf led the Cardinal to three-consecutive Pac-12 titles, going 8-1-1 in Conference action set a school record for Pac-12 wins. Langsdorf also helped Stanford earn a No. 5 seed and first-round bye in the 2016 NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship.

Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year – Tomas Hilliard-Arce, D, Jr., StanfordTomas Hilliard-Arce (Matthews, N.C.) was named the Pac-12 Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Year and is the second-consecutive Stanford player to win the award since it was instituted in 2014. The junior started all 17 games and anchored a Cardinal defense that maintained the Conference’s second-best goals-against average (.73). In addition offensively, Hilliard-Arce scored two game-winning goals on the year.

Pac-12 Freshman of the Year – Handwalla Bwana, M, Fr., WashingtonIn his first season as a Husky, Handwalla Bwana (Seattle, Wash.) posted the Conference’s second-best assists per game (.39) and helped Washington earn the No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament, marking the team’s 23rd appearance in the tournament and first since 2014. Bwana recorded seven assists on the season and was the leading scorer on a Huskies’ squad that finished the regular season 6-4-0 in league play.

Pac-12 Coach of the Year – Jeremy Gunn, StanfordFifth-year head coach Jeremy Gunn led the Cardinal to its third-consecutive Pac-12 title while earning a No. 5 seed and a first-round bye in its fourth-straight and 15th overall NCAA Tournament appearance. The Cardinal finished the regular season 11-3-4 overall and 8-1-1 in Conference action, setting a school record for Pac-12 wins. At home under Gunn, the Cardinal is 26-2-8 in its last 36 matches and is unbeaten in regulation since 2013. Stanford leads the Conference and in the top-25 in the NCAA in points per game (5.39), scoring offense (1.83), total goals (33), and total points (97).